The equipment you use when first getting started in this game doesn’t need to be fancy or expensive, but you do need to have the basics. As you build your skills and get more into playing and practicing regularly, you can gradually upgrade your gear.
So, what do you need before you hit the course? Whether you already have some gear and are looking to fill out your set, or you are starting completely from scratch, the information below will bring clarity to the shopping process.
What’s in a Golf Bag?
There isn’t much sense in collecting equipment if you have no way to carry it around, so put a golf bag at the top of your shopping list.
As a beginner, there’s no reason to go crazy with your bag purchase. After all, you don’t yet know what you’ll like in a bag, so the best strategy is to play it safe and buy an affordable option just to get started. If possible, you might even be able to track down a used bag, either online or at a local garage sale. Get something that is reasonably light and not too big, and you should be all set to move on from there.
So, once you have your bag, what goes in it? Here’s a list of the things you might wind up collecting. We’ll go into more detail on these line items below.
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Golf clubs, including a driver, irons, putter, and more
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Golf balls
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Golf glove
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Tees
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Towel
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Water bottle
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Personal care kit
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Distance measuring device
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Umbrella
What Golf Clubs Should You Buy First?
Obviously, it’s the set of golf clubs you purchase that is going to make up the bulk of your equipment investment. Golf clubs can be expensive, but you don’t have to buy top-of-the-line gear right away. Whether you go with used clubs or buy new stuff from a lesser-known brand, you can fill up your bag with clubs and be hitting the course before you know it.
Driver
Every set of golf equipment needs one driver. This is the club that you will use to start off nearly every time, so it gets used a lot. It’s also many golfers’ favorite club because it’s the one that can hit the ball the farthest. If you become skilled with your driver, that one ability will make just about everything else in the game a little easier.
Fairway Woods
You will likely want to get either one or two fairway woods. At the very least, you will want to have a three-wood, and many golfers also carry a five-wood. These look like smaller versions of the driver, and they are useful both off the tee and from the fairway for long approach shots. It’s not necessary for your fairway woods to match your driver, but some golfers do like to keep things consistent just to have a similar look and feel throughout their long clubs.
Hybrids
As the name suggests, hybrids are a bit of a combination. They blur the line between woods and irons, and have become tremendously popular in recent years. It’s not necessary for every golfer to carry a hybrid club, but they are highly recommended for beginners. If you are new to golf, using hybrids instead of long irons is a wise strategy. Consider getting one or two of these clubs and starting your set of irons at the five or six.
Irons
This is the one area of the bag where you are going to want consistency. You do want to buy a set of irons, rather than picking them out one at a time. It’s a good idea for new golfers to start their iron set around a five or six iron, so you might choose to buy a set that runs from five iron through pitching wedge. The consistency is important because you want your irons to look and feel the same throughout the set, and you want the distances to gradually get shorter as you move down through the clubs.
Wedges
Most new golfers should carry two wedges at the bottom of their set (which doesn’t include the pitching wedge, as that is considered part of the iron set). Generally, you will want to have a sand wedge that has about 55-degrees of loft, and a lob wedge at 60-degrees. These are the clubs you’ll use for your shortest shots around the green. They are able to get the ball up in the air quickly and bring it down softly on the putting surface. Wedges can be notoriously frustrating for new golfers to master, but once you get the idea, they might become some of your favorite to use.
Putter
No set of clubs is complete without a putter. This is the club you use when your ball is on the green and you are trying to knock it into the hole. The most important thing with a putter is comfort and personal preference. There is no one “best” type of putter. Try to find a golf store where you can try out a bunch of them and go with the one that just feels comfortable in your hands and looks good to your eye.
Understanding Golf Balls
One of the biggest mistakes made by new golfers buying equipment is that they tend to go for golf balls that are too expensive. The more expensive the ball, the better it must be, right? Not necessarily. The idea here is to get the right ball for your game, which as you are getting started, might not be the most expensive one.
It’s important to understand what you are looking at when buying golf balls. Generally speaking, you can use the price of a ball to determine how much it is going to spin. The more a ball costs, the more it will spin. That’s great for professional golfers who can control that spin effectively, but for a new player, it’s a disaster. You probably don’t yet have the skill to control spin, so by purchasing an expensive ball, you are accidentally making the game harder for yourself.
So, at the beginning, buy cheap golf balls. You are going to lose some of them, so it will hurt less if you didn’t pay that much for them in the first place. And, since those cheap golf balls don’t spin a ton, it will be easier to control them, and you’ll have more fun. Gradually, as your game improves, you can start to upgrade into more advanced balls and start to tap into the benefits they deliver.
Having the Right Accessories
With clubs and balls, you can get started playing some golf. However, you’ll still be a bit short of what you really need, so consider picking up the items listed below to round out your bag properly.
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Tees. At the start of each hole, you are allowed to put your ball on top of a tee. You should have a bunch of tees in your bag at all times, so you never run out in the middle of a round. Many courses give away tees for free when you play a round, but you can also pick up some at a golf shop or online for just a few bucks. You might see fancy tees out there that offer various benefits, but don’t worry about that. Just a basic wood tee will work perfectly fine.
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Golf glove. Some golfers prefer to play barehanded, but they are the exception rather than the rule. Most players will enjoy the extra grip that a glove offers, and wearing a glove can help you avoid blisters during the round or during practice. It’s important to note that you wear a golf glove on your non-dominant hand, so a right-handed golfer will want to buy a glove for their left hand.
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Towel. Always have a towel on or in your bag when you play golf. There is often dew on the ground, so things might get wet along the way, or it might even be raining. Even if there is no dew or rain in sight, having the towel to wipe off your clubs or dry your hands from sweat is essential.
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Water bottle. You’ll be on the course for several hours at a time, and you don’t always want to rely on the golf course having water available. Bring a bottle and tuck it into your bag so you can stay hydrated.
Turn to Voice Caddie for Your Distance Devices
As you continue your journey in golf, you’ll want to add a rangefinder or GPS device to your bag. For that, Voice Caddie is the perfect place to shop. We have a selection of accurate, reliable laser rangefinders and GPS devices to make sure you always know how far it is to the target. Explore our site today and get in touch if you have any questions.
